State Maps and interviews.

Good things. The day started with a continental breakfast which included an extremely impressive fruit tray. In addition to the typical pineapple, melons and strawberries, this one had kiwi, blueberries and star fruit! Yes. Star fruit. Then a program overview, in which we were introduced to approximately 6000 labs (really, it was only around 35... but 35 different labs in 2 hours is a lot). Then a talk about admissions in which they basically told us that this weekend is to verify that we are in real life who we appear to be on paper, and that they expected to give 75-100% of us offers of admission.

Then interviews. Mine were on the intense side... a lot of questions about what I would do once I got immediate answers to my questions, what kinds of experiments would I do, etc. I answered reasonably well, but some of those questions caught me off-guard. And the 30-minutes of each interview went by in a flash and a flurry of words and gestures.

Then two seminars, cocktails and finally a fancy dinner with faculty and admissions committee members in the museum of archaeology -- lots of egyptian pillars and things surrounding us. Not to mention really, really good food.

So, it's been a good day. Plus, the hotel is nice and the people are very nice and the program is very strong. Tomorrow are the lab visits. I have two scheduled (plus two other interviews), and I am hoping to schedule another due to the fact that one of the vision guys was sitting at my table at dinner tonight and heard that I was interested in higher order visual perception and said "you're not on my interview list" with a sort of "why aren't you on my interview list" tone, so I am going to ask tomorrow to also interview with him.

So it is good. And tomorrow is lots of interviews, and then the stress ends and I get the weekend to enjoy Philly.

And I find out sometime next week about admission (well, really I find out either next week or the week after). Which will mean one offer of admission obtained, and that is a good sign and a relief as it means I will have SOMEWHERE to go if I don't get my first choices.